The New Justice League: Rise of Cadmus
by Gage39
Summary: Things have been relatively peaceful for the Justice League but that peace is shattered when a new meta, Shazam, decides to become their newest villain. As they try to figure where he came from Shazam faces his own challenges as he tries to escape the torture-filled clutches of Amanda Waller, vana and Lex Luthor. During his investigation Batman learns a horrifying secret about
1. Shazam Attacks Part One

The New Justice League: The Rise of Cadmus

Shazam Attacks, Part 1

Prologue

It was a beautiful night in the forest. The full moon shone brightly on the tops of the trees, occasionally illuminating the path. Unfortunately the person running through the woods had no time to enjoy the beauty of nature or be frightened by the various animals that howled or snarled as they were disturbed by the humans intruding on their domain.

"Come back here!" the angry shouts were accompanied by armed men carrying flashlights and wearing military uniforms. Giant dogs tugged at their lashes, their huge teeth gleaming as they snarled upon catching the scent of their prey.

"You're just making it worse on yourself. Come peacefully and we might be gentle with you."

The person running tripped over an exposed root, the moonlight briefly illuminating the fact that he was nothing more than a child. The boy pushed himself up and began running again.

"Get back here, you little brat!"

"Please," the boy panted as he leaned against an oak tree for support. "Please, I need help. I…I don't care if you're good or evil, just please help me." He waited but there was no reply and he began to sob, fat tears trickling down his cheeks as his chest began to heave. "Why? Why me? What did I ever do to deserve this? I'll do whatever you want, just please help me."

There was no answer and he was just about to give up when his eyes started glowing and he yelled, "Shazam!" A brilliant flash of light filled the forest, momentarily blinding the forests' occupants as they shielded their eyes. Then the light disappeared and the forest was left dark once again.

* * *

It was a beautiful day, Superman decided as he and Wonder Woman flew overhead the city of Metropolis. The sun was shining and the slight breeze kept them from overheating. Birds flew around them, chirping as they paid the news crew following the superheroes no mind.

"This is truly a glorious day," Diana smiled as she rolled over mid-flight before taking her place at Superman's side once again.

"It sure is," he smiled. Nothing could possibly ruin this moment; nothing except-

A fist came out of nowhere and Superman found himself flying backwards several feet before he managed to get his balance. Wonder Woman threw him a worried glance before turning her attention to their enemy. He was easily the same height as Superman although he appeared to be more muscular. His costume was a brilliant red with a silver square-shaped lightning bolt on his chest. The hood of his white cape was down revealing messy black hair and blue eyes. On his wrists were golden gauntlets similar to Wonder Woman's that matched his boots.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "And why did you attack us?"

"The name's Shazam and I want to destroy the Justice League," he sneered, lightning crackling all over his body.

"Of course you do," Superman sighed as he flew back to them. "Don't you villains ever get tired of doing the same thing over and over?"

"Huh?" Shazam looked confused for a moment then his face cleared and he grinned, looking rather young. "I'm not a villain, I'm a-"

Wonder Woman slammed into Shazam, cutting him off mid-sentence. "It does not matter what you claim to be for you have made your intentions clear and now you will suffer the consequences!"

"Oh for crying out loud," Superman groaned as she and Shazam began throwing punches at each other although they appeared to be evenly matched. "Can't we ever settle anything diplomatically?"

"Tell me your true name," Wonder Woman demanded once she had managed to wrap her lasso around Shazam's fist.

"I don't think so," Shazam sneered. "You seem a bit aggressive for an Ambassador of Peace don't you think?"

Wonder Woman's eyes flashed dangerously and she tightened her hold, disappointed that he didn't even flinch. "I said: tell me your true name!"

"You want a name? I'll give you a name. Shazam!"

There was a loud boom then lightning cracked down from the sky and Wonder Woman screamed in agony as it struck her.

"Diana!" Superman shouted.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Watchtower, Flash choked on his pretzel then hit the com button on his console. "Is anyone near Metropolis? Superman and Wonder Woman could use some help with a new meta who's most likely a magic-user."

"Why do you say that?" Green Lantern sounded slightly suspicious. If it was bad enough that Superman and Wonder Woman of all people needed help then he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do especially if magic was involved. Plus he didn't really trust his friend's assessment of threat levels.

"Well he just called down lightning and he's resisting her lasso," Flash replied.

There was a pause then, "I'm on my way," Green Lantern sounded resigned.

"As am I," Martian Manhunter reported. "Perhaps you should contact Batman and have him on standby just in case," he suggested.

Flash nodded enthusiastically although they couldn't see him. "I'm on it," he promised.

When the lightning finally let up Wonder Woman was still convulsing, even as Shazam freed himself from the lasso. Superman quickly flew to her aid, positioning himself in front of her. "What did you do to her?" he demanded.

"Nothing that she didn't ask for," Shazam looked behind Superman and grinned. "Well, would you look at that? It seems the cavalry's here."

"Is she okay?" Green Lantern asked worriedly as he flew to Superman's side as Martian Manhunter stopped to check on the Amazon warrior.

"You know you really should pay less attention to her and focus on your enemy instead!" Shazam threw a giant ball of lightning at them, forcing them to duck. There was the sound of an explosion as it collided with the news copter, sending it spiraling.

"Shit," Green Lantern cursed even as Martian Manhunter caught the pilot and two passengers, telekinetically lowering them to the ground. A red streak that was obviously Flash ran to and fro as he and Batman tried to catch the remains of the copter. Satisfied that they would take care of the civilians he turned his attention back to Shazam.

"The child," a dazed Wonder Woman muttered. "The child-he needs our help."

"Child? What child?" Superman frowned at her.

"I shall attempt to gain the information from his mind," Martian Manhunter placed his hands on his temple.

Before they had time to react Shazam grabbed Superman and shouted, "Shazam!"

Superman's screams were easily two times louder than Wonder Woman's and when Shazam let go he plummeted towards Earth at an accelerated rate.

"Superman!" Green Lantern yelled.

* * *

A/N: This chapter (and subsequently this story) is hopefully the first installment in a very long series. So please let me know what you think of it. Also, the likelihood of me finishing Justice League: Eclipsed is not at all likely. I do apologize.


	2. Shazam Attacks Part Two

The New Justice League: The Rise of Cadmus

Shazam Attacks Part 2

As soon as Superman began falling Green Lantern dove after him, desperately trying to summon the willpower necessary. "Come on, Hal," he muttered. "You've just got to focus long enough to catch him, that's all." He tried using a breathing technique that Batman had taught him and cheered happily to himself when Superman landed in a giant green baseball glove. Sure he was groaning and didn't look too well since magical burns now covered his face and the exposed areas of his skin where his costume had been burned off but he was alive and that was all that mattered.

"Great," Flash groaned as he skidded to a stop next to Superman as Green Lantern gently placed him on the ground. "Wondy still looks out of it and we just lost Superman. Who the hell is this guy?"

"I don't know," Batman frowned. "I've never heard of him before today but I still should have heard something about him before now even if he just decided to be evil. Someone with a power level like his can't just stay hidden until now."

"How about we just focus on the cleanup?" Flash suggested before going to help a young woman and her toddler evacuate.

"I will try to reach his mind," J'onn closed his eyes and concentrated. He found himself in what appeared to be a torture chamber with fresh blood on the devices. "Hello?" he called cautiously, "is anyone in here? I mean you no harm."

"You're lying," a childish voice said from behind him.

J'onn spun around to find a young boy standing there. His small body was covered in blood and gashes. "I don't want to hurt you," he reiterated as he stretched out a hand.

"Don't touch me!" the boy's eyes began to glow and everything in the room began to float in the air, spinning faster and faster until they were nothing more than a blur. "You want to touch me, to hurt me? I dare you to touch me, to see if you can take it." The boy suddenly darted forward and grabbed J'onn's arms.

J'onn let out a loud scream as tears began to trickle down his face. "Too much!" he shouted. "Too much, too much pain. I can't take it. It's too much; it's too much for any one person to handle."

"J'onn?" Green Lantern asked uncertainly. "You, uh, you okay, buddy? That lightning looked like it hit you pretty hard."

"This is ridiculous," Batman grumbled as he watched the fight above. "He's just one person why haven't we beaten him yet?"

Flash slowed down long enough to toss out, "Because he's mega powerful and every time we try to attack him we get struck by magic lightning?"

"Don't you have people to save?" Batman said sharply, even as he made a mental note to increase his training to better defend against magic. Between this new guy and the highly annoying John Constantine he feared that magic was something he would be seeing a lot more of.

"If you have time to talk then you have time to work," Flash sniggered before running off to help an old lady and her three grandchildren get to safety.

"We don't really need a speedster," Batman told himself. "It couldn't be that hard to make it without him. Superman's pretty fast; surely he can cover for Flash."

"Tell Batman I'm not replacing Flash," Superman groaned as he rose to his feet, flying to the sky to take his place alongside his teammates.

"I don't even want to know," Wonder Woman gripped her lasso tightly as she prepared to leap back into battle. "I shall never go anywhere without my sword and shield again," she muttered petulantly.

"I guess it's my turn now," Green Lantern sighed reluctantly. He took a deep breath then lunged forward, swinging a giant club. He was mere centimeters away from Shazam's face when the magic-user suddenly looked at him, a malicious look on his face.

"I don't think so," his eyes glowed as he stopped the attack with one hand and shoved the other on Green Lantern's face, lightning flowing from his fingertips.

Green Lantern screamed in agony as the magic lightning coursed through his body. It was like every cell in his body had been set on fire but, for just a split second, he could see a young boy, bound in chains and locked in a cage. "Help me!" the boy shouted, stretching out his hand but before Green Lantern could respond the vision disappeared and he was still screaming. He hadn't realized just how much getting struck by lightning hurt. He had a new-found respect for all those cartoon characters he and Flash had laughed at over the years.

"Are you alright?" J'onn placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Not really but I'll make it," Green Lantern grunted, shrugging the hand off his shoulder. "I just want to know who that kid was."

"You saw him too?" at Green Lantern's affirmative nod J'onn sighed. "I too wish that I knew who he was but I fear we won't know the answer to that until we have subdued Shazam."

"Do you always have to talk like that?" Flash whined.

Superman groaned as he ducked another one of Shazam's punches. "Why do all of our battles have to end this way? Would it really be that difficult to just beat up the bad guy without all of the commentary?!"

There was a pause then everyone said, "Yes!"

"I thought so," Superman managed to land a punch but was forced to duck less than a second later.

"Now you know how I feel," Batman commented.

"Enough!" Shazam threw Green Lantern at Superman who easily caught his friend. "I'm tired of toying with you, it's not fun anymore. Shazam!"

Every member of the Justice League screamed as the magic lightning struck them once again. The boy appeared in front of them, calling for their help before disappearing. From his position on the ground Flash groaned as he tried to sit up, his eyes widening when he caught sight of something.

"Um, guys? We have a problem; some of that lightning hit an apartment building and it's coming down!"

A/N: I hope you guys are enjoying this story so far. I've finished about half of it so far, I just have to type it up. I've been waiting for awhile to write this. Let me know what you think or if there's anything particular you want to see either in this story or a future one and I'll see what I can do. It should get better soon-I promise. I just suck at writing action.


	3. Shazam Attacks Part Three

The New Justice League: The Rise of Cadmus

Shazam Attacks Part 3

Before any of the heroes had time to react there was a streak of red and gold. Flash blinked in surprise and his jaw dropped when he realized that the apartment building was no longer falling because Shazam was now holding the building in place.

"Hey can I get a little help over here?" he called. "This building's gonna fall apart pretty soon and there are still a lot of people in here."

"Oh, right. Sorry," Flash apologized as he and the rest of the Justice League got to work. It didn't take long for them to evacuate the building and separate the victims into groups based on the severity of their injuries. From there the police and fire departments took over as the medial personnel began checking on their patients. The Justice League and Shazam stood in an awkward circle in front of the ruins of the apartment building.

Shazam was the first the break the silence. "Heh. Sorry about all this mess," he scratched his head sheepishly. "I think I went a little overboard."

"I would definitely have to agree," Green Lantern winced as yet another street sign fell and hit the ground. He really, really didn't want to see the repair bill for this especially since the court had ruled that the funds would no longer come from the villains' bank accounts after Killer Moth had sued the government for confiscating his daughter's college funds and won, getting his money back shortly after.

"Can we return to our battle now?" Wonder Woman demanded.

"Absolutely not," Batman said firmly. "Is there any way we could all calm down and discuss this rationally like adults?"

Shazam shrugged. "I don't have a problem with that. I, uh, may have jumped the gun a bit anyways."

Wonder Woman frowned when she realized that they were all staring at her, arms folded and eyebrows raised. "What? Do you truly believe me incapable of restraint?"

"Yes," Flash said.

"Absolutely," Green Lantern nodded.

"Sorry," Superman at least had the grace to look embarrassed.

Martian Manhunter extended his hand to a very confused Shazam who took it. "I have no doubt that after a friendly meal we will have cleared up this entire misunderstanding and will be good friends."

Shazam stared at him for a moment then said, "For the world's greatest telepath you're either very naïve or beyond high. If I had to guess I'd say you're probably the world's biggest tool."

For a moment there was silence then Flash let out a muffled snicker and soon he and Green Lantern were laughing hysterically as they held onto a longsuffering Superman for support. Batman groaned as he pressed a hand to his forehead, muttering about vacancies and new recruits.

Suddenly Superman frowned and turned to face the western entrance to town. "Someone's coming," he announced tersely. "It sounds like a lot of people and they're armed."

"Shit," Shazam cursed. "They found me."

Batman looked at the villain who was pale and clenching his fists. The fact that someone who had literally just taken on the entire Justice League without breaking a sweat was now terrified was not a good sign. Batman frowned and gripped a batarang in each hand as three armored trucks pulled up, armed soldiers spilling out and surrounding them, weapons trained on all of them.

"Excellent," Wonder Woman grinned as she held her lasso at the ready. "I was hoping to do more battle today."

"Joy," Green Lantern deadpanned. "Just what I wanted to spend my afternoon doing: fighting the U.S. Army."

"Wow, really?" Shazam looked at him, blue eyes wide in disbelief. "This is the exact opposite of what I wanted to do today."

Flash just stared at him. "You and J'onn are both tools, you know that?" he finally said.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Justice League and their newest enemy of the week," a grating yet feminine voice said.

Batman's eyes narrowed. "Waller," he ground out.

"Batman." Amanda Waller was attractive and she knew it. Her clothes were perfectly tailored to accent her curves and dark skin yet allowed her freedom of movement which came in handy on situations like this. "I don't have time to deal with you…superheroes right now; I'm here for him," she pointed at Shazam.

Shazam's eyes narrowed and lightning began to crackle all over his body. "Just try and take me, bitch," he hissed.

Desperate to avoid another fight Superman stepped forward. "I wasn't aware that were responsible for arresting common thugs, Ms. Waller."

"I'm not," her smile looked rather menacing as she turned her gaze back to Shazam for a moment then faced Batman. "Normally I don't deal with things like this but seeing as how he is technically Cadmus property I didn't have much of a choice."

"Property?" Flash and Green Lantern echoed.

"I was under the impression that slavery was no longer legal," J'onn frowned in confusion.

"As was I," Diana agreed.

As though sensing Batman's inevitable quotation of laws Waller held out a file which Batman took. "As you can clearly see he agreed to let us experiment on him and in case of his powers causing him to react violently we have been given permission to take him back so we can run tests and figure out what went wrong."

Batman's scowl grew as he continued reading. When he finally looked up his voice was grim as he said, "It looks like everything is in order but I warn you, Waller, should I find anything even remotely illegal about this I will more than happy to removed Shazam from your custody immediately."

"Whatever," Waller rolled her eyes and turned to Shazam, "time to go home, Shazam."

"I'm not going back," Shazam's eyes began glowing and the Justice League tensed as they readied for yet another fight.

Waller crossed her arms. "Go right ahead-start another brawl; maybe kill a few innocent people. You forget-I've known you for over two years and I know that deep down you don't want to hurt anybody. That's why you held back when you fought them even though you could easily killed them earlier and why you gave up your shot at freedom to save all those innocent people."

Everything was silent for a moment as everyone held their breath, unsure of what was going to happen then Shazam sighed and held out his wrists. "Fine, I'll come."

"Excellent," she snapped her fingers and two very nervous soldiers come forward and after several minutes finally managed to get anti-magic cuffs on him.

"Farewell, Justice League," Shazam called as they led him into one of the trucks. "I'll be sure to kill you next time, I promise."

"This doesn't feel right," Green Lantern said abruptly once the trucks had left.

"No it doesn't," Superman agreed. "But we do have other things that we need to take care of."

"I'll be up in a minute," Batman promised then turned his attention to the ground. After a few moments he finally found what he had been looking for: a lock of Shazam's hair. "I'll find the truth," he carefully placed the hair in an evidence bag, "and when I do I'm coming for you, Amanda Waller, I swear it."

A/N: I hope you guys are still enjoying this story as much as I am. Don't forget to let me know what you think of it!


	4. Cadmus

The New Justice League: The Rise Of Cadmus

Cadmus

A/N: Some physical abuse and brief mentions of child molestation. Nothing very graphic.

Shazam didn't bother struggling as Waller's goons led him from the truck back into Cadmus. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes but he just blinked them away and put on his best cocky smile. "I love what you've done with the place. Has it always been this depressing or is it just me?"

"Well someone's a lot cockier than they used to be," Waller commented. "Could that have anything to do with your new power surge?"

Shazam just looked at her as they strapped him into the torture chair then burst out laughing. "You know, when you smile like that you look like a demented shark with rabies." The slap was expected but the lack of a sting wasn't. "Huh. Guess this new body has a few perks."

Waller's smile was sadistic as she leaned in closer, her breasts resting on his shoulder as she whispered in his ear, "That just means it'll be all the more fun to watch you break." She ran a perfectly manicured nail down his face, enjoying the way his jaw spasmed. "And make no mistake; you will break even if I have to take you apart piece by piece."

Shazam spat in her face. "Good luck, bitch," he smirked.

Waller wiped her face off then smiled cruelly. "This is going to be fun."

She snapped her fingers and Dr. Sivana came over carrying a tray with various medical and non-medical instruments. "I'm not sure these will work on him while he's like this," he warned, pushing his glasses back up after putting down the tray. Dr. Sivana was a short, bony old man with large ears and a misshapen head that housed one of the world's most intelligent brains. He had once been a leading scientist trying to help the world-he had even won a Nobel Prize. Unfortunately humans could be cruel and eventually Dr. Sivana could take no more of their taunts and bitterness had twisted him into an egomaniac that wanted to be viewed as a serious threat.

"Good point," Waller frowned. "Return to your regular form. Now."

"Yeah I don't think so." Shazam didn't even flinch when one of the guards backhanded him. "That the best you got?" he taunted. "Superman hit harder than you and he's a pussy." He wished that he could say the gun barrel to his temple was a surprise but, sadly, it wasn't.

"He dented my gun," the disgruntled guard complained.

"The guy just took on Superman and you expected _that_ to hurt him? Now listen to me, you little brat. You're going to turn back into your regular form or else."

"Or else what? You forget: you can't hurt me while I'm like this so why should I go back to being human?"

Before anyone had time to react Waller pulled out a gun she had hidden in the small of her back under her red shirt and held it against the head of one of the guards. "Or else I'll kill him and don't even try that 'I could care less' speech. We've already established that you won't risk anyone getting hurt."

Shazam glared at her, hatred written all over her face. "Fine," he ground out. "Shazam!"

"What the hell?" Dr. Sivana shouted angrily with just a hint of terror as the lightning came down.

"Put a gag on him," Waller ordered the second she saw the child sitting in the chair. "We can't risk him trying that stunt again."

"Of course," Dr. Sivana wasted no time in securing the red ball gag in Billy's mouth.

"Excuse me, Amanda?"

"What is it, Rick?" she looked over at her second-in-command. Colonel Rick Flag, Jr. absolutely did _not_ approve of anything that was going on in this facility but he was also the only person she had ever trusted (apart from her late husband that is).

"Luthor and his henchwoman are here," he informed her.

Amanda groaned. "Great," she sighed. "Just who I wanted to see. Dr. Sivana, why don't you look and see if the experiment's new body has had any effect on his old one. Maybe you can figure out how and where it came from."

"On it," Dr. Sivana nodded as she left the room. "This is going to be fun especially since he just shorted out most of the electrical systems. I suppose I'll just have to do it by hand." He picked up a scalpel; ignoring Billy's tears as he cut open the boy's shirt. "Let's just look and see if your insides look any different."

"Luthor," Amanda greeted when she entered her office and moved to sit at her desk.

"Waller," Luthor nodded. He looked far too comfortable in the leather chair although the presence of Mercy Graves (his bodyguard and personal assistant) may have had something to do with it. She stood behind him, hands clasped behind her back. She spared a glance at Rick and Amanda as they entered the room then returned her attention to her boss. "How are you doing today?"

"Let's just cut to the chase," Waller ignored the glare Mercy sent her way as she continued speaking. "You're here because of the breakout."

"Well I certainly didn't come here for the food," Luthor quipped. "But yes I am rather curious about how this happened especially after you assured us that that was impossible and would never happen."

"If you had allowed my team and I to oversee security like I requested then this wouldn't have happened," Mercy pointed out in an even tone.

"I don't recall asking for your opinion. Why don't you run along and powder your nose or something? Those of us with more than one brain cell need to talk," Amanda sneered.

Mercy regarded her before saying, "The only person that is allowed to give me orders is Lex-not some stuck-up bitch that gets off on beating and raping children."

Amanda fairly bristled with rage as she hissed, "Who the hell do you think you are? You're nothing more than a glorified babysitter that only got the job by sleeping with her boss and-" she was cut off by Luthor who now had a gun pointed at her head.

"No one, not even my father, is allowed to speak to Mercy that way and I like you a hell of a lot more than I do him. So, if I were you, I would watch what I say from now on because the next time you pull this stunt I will kill you. Understood?"

Next to her Rick was tense as he waited for her signal. She hesitated then said, "Understood."

"Excellent," Luthor smiled as he returned the gun to his jacket pocket. "Have we figured out how he was released from his cell?"

"Not yet," Rick shook his head. "We're trying to figure that out now but we suspect that it was a computer issue as all of the security systems went out last night. As soon as we realized it we went to check on him but he was already gone. A guard noticed that the outside exit was open and we pursued him from there but lost him in the woods after a freak lightning storm."

"Could he have used his powers to overload the system?" Mercy asked. "I know the cell is supposed to prevent him from accessing them but could they have grown too powerful for us to contain?"

"That-that is a possibility," Rick admitted, albeit reluctantly. "We're trying to figure out how he managed to obtain the new powers he used to fight the Justice League."

"We expect regular updates," Mercy informed him. "I would also like to inspect his cell to satisfy my curiosity."

"I can take you right now if you would like," Rick offered after shooting a quick glance at Amanda.

"Lex?"

"Go right ahead-I think I can live for a few minutes without you," Luthor teased.

"You'd better," was all she said before leaving the room with Rick. The two walked in silence, Mercy mentally cataloguing all the facility's weak spots. It was a habit she had developed shortly after her stepmother and sister had abandoned her and had honed over the years. It had saved both her and Lex's lives many times.

"We're here," Rick stopped in front of a room with a two way mirror as one of the main walls. It was the same size as a jail but with fewer niceties. The only furniture was an extremely thin mattress (Mercy had protested so Waller had finally consented to allow it) with one of her old coats covering the blood (and other bodily fluids) stains and a bucket for when he needed to use the bathroom. Mercy stepped into the room, grateful for the cybernetics that Lex had built for her automatically filtering out the unpleasant aroma.

"Is there anything in particular that you're looking for?" Rick asked from his spot in the doorway.

"Weak spots," she answered automatically. "Particularly in the inhibitor fields. Perhaps if this room was less depressing he might not have been so eager to run away."

Rick scoffed at her. "He's not even real; he should just be grateful we allow him to wear clothes and eat."

Mercy bit her tongue to keep from saying anything as she swept the room. "I do not see any sign of an attempt to break out either from the inside or outside. I suspect it was merely a computer failure."

"Joy," Rick sighed.

Batman was in the middle of reading an article about Wayne Industries when his computer started going off. Startled, he looked up and raised an eyebrow upon realizing that the DNA test results for Shazam had already come back. "That was fast," he commented, opening the file. Mere seconds later he was pulling out his communicator, barking orders for an emergency meeting. He didn't bother turning the computer off as he left so the screen continued flashing the test results.

DNA MATCH FOR SHAZAM FOUND: BRUCE WAYNE, CLARK KENT, DIANA PRINCE, HAL JORDEN, BARRY ALLEN AND J'ONN J'ONZZ.


	5. Partial Truths

The New Justice League: The Rise Of Cadmus

Chapter 5: Partial Truths

"Alright," Martian Manhunter sighed. "What's going on now?"

"This had better be good," Superman grumbled. "I had to leave work for this."

Batman pulled up a file, his expression grimmer than usual. "I got the DNA test results back from Shazam."

Green Lantern raised an eyebrow. "That was fast-the fight only happened this morning."

"His parental DNA was already in the system," Batman explained. "All six donors pulled up almost immediately."

"Six?" Flash and Green Lantern echoed.

"I was unaware that mortals could have that many parents," a confused Wonder Woman stated.

"Normally they can't but considering that the six of us are his donors I think it's safe to say that he wasn't created the natural way." Batman sat back and waited to see their reactions. He didn't have to wait long.

"What?!" the other members yelped.

"I believe that he's a clone created by Cadmus. They weren't expecting him to escape and attack us," Batman frowned. "Otherwise I doubt that we would have heard of him at all."

"And here I was thinking that my life couldn't get any weirder," Green Lantern sighed.

"But we have not been together for that long," Wonder Woman argued, "and he is clearly an adult."

Flash shook his head. "Not necessarily. Clones can be aged artificially so even though he looks like an adult he might really be two."

"That might explain the child we all saw when we were struck by lightning," J'onn reasoned. "The child might represent his real one."

"And he was asking for our help so I say we do just that," Wonder Woman slapped her palms on the table as she stood up.

"Let's not be hasty," Batman warned as he stood up as well. "However, it can't hurt to pay Waller a visit."

"Batman, what an expected surprise," Amanda Waller didn't bother rising as the Justice League filed into her office. "I knew it was only a matter of time until you figured out who Shazam is."

"Why did you create him?" while Superman had no problem with genetically altered humans, artificial ones were a whole other story. They were grown in labs and could imitate human behavior just like androids. At least androids knew they weren't real while clones were convinced that they were.

Waller leaned forward before saying, "The six of you are the most powerful superhero group in existence. What do you think would happen if you decided that you were tired of saving the world and wanted to rule it instead? We wouldn't have a prayer of defeating you and that's why we created Shazam."

"That would explain why he attacked us," J'onn mused. "He must have assumed that we had turned evil."

"We do apologize for that," Waller's smile did not look sincere. "We're doing an internal investigation now and it's looking like an inside job."

"We would like to see Shazam for ourselves and ask him a few questions," Batman said.

Waller shook her head. "I'm afraid that's not possible. Our scientists tell me that if he sees you he might become violent again and risk his genetic coding become unstable. Besides, it's not like he's sentient or anything so how we're treating him doesn't matter."

"But it does," Green Lantern frowned. "Sentience doesn't have anything to do with it. He's a living, breathing being and deserves to be treated like one."

Waller sighed, obviously realizing that she wasn't going to win. "Once he's stable and we've figured out what went wrong you will be allowed full access to him. Will that be acceptable?"

Batman glared at her but she didn't budge. "Very well," he begrudgingly agreed.

"Good, now get out."

"I don't think I like her," Flash said in a stage whisper as they left the room.

Privately Batman agreed with him but chose to stay quiet. At least one of them had to act like an adult and since he was 'the broody one' (according to Green Lantern) it might as well be him. As they headed towards the exit he caught sight of an elderly gentleman sweeping the floor. Their eyes met and the man glared at Batman, hatred written all over his face then he went back to sweeping. Batman frowned but followed his teammates as they left.

Once the Justice League left Dudley H. Dudley let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He just couldn't believe how stupid the superheroes were if they actually believed any of Waller's bullshit. He refused to consider the other option-that they knew the trust and didn't care. He couldn't-wouldn't-believe that if only for Billy's sake.

Screams echoed throughout the hallway and his hold on the broom tightened. After looking around it quickly became obvious that he was the only one affected as everyone else simply ignored the screams and continued going about their daily lives. No, he mentally corrected himself; he wasn't the only one who couldn't stand the screams. There were at least two other people who agreed with him: Mercy Graves and Lex Luthor. Mr. Luthor had seemed particularly upset although he had masked it very well but Ms. Graves had made no secret of her disdain for the situation.

It had still been a shock when Ms. Graves had approached him and slipped a piece of paper into his hands before going to join her boss. Upon further inspection he realized that he had been given the codes to Billy's cell along with a time and date.

Two days later he had released Billy from his cell and took him to one of the side exits which led to the forest. He had barely managed to hide before the guards came running. Dudley had spent the new day anxiously waiting for Waller or Flag to demand to know why he had released Billy and where he had gotten the information necessary. But no one had come and he soon found out that the security cameras had malfunctioned and didn't come back online until earlier this morning.

He had not been pleased when he found out that Billy had been recaptured. It didn't matter, he decided. He would break Billy out again and this time he would go with him. They could go somewhere far away-far enough that Waller couldn't find them and might even give up on them.

Dudley's lips tightened when he saw two guards drag Billy out of the torture room, no doubt planning to throw him back into his cell. The boy was just barely conscious and blood dripped down his face and arms. His face was already turning black and blue and there were long gashes on his chest that would need to be cleaned and stitched up soon or else infection would set in.

"Soon, Billy," he whispered. "Soon you'll be free, I promise."


	6. Second Escape

The New Justice League: Rise Of Cadmus

Chapter 6: Second Escape

Billy wasn't sure how long he had been out when he finally came to but he suspected it was probably a full day, judging by how stiff he was. Carefully he began moving, hissing when the wounds on his chest re-opened, blood sluggishly dripping from them. It took some time but he finally managed to reach an upright position, panting as he leaned against the wall for support. It had taken a lot out of him to do this much and he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they ever cut him so deep that they couldn't stitch him back together and add a new scar to him if they could even find a spot for it. No doubt his body would be dissected and a replacement made but he was more curious about what would happen to him. Would he fade into nothingness or was there an afterlife created for artificially created people (things, a voice that sounded like Ms. Waller, corrected-he wasn't real after all) like him? Perhaps he would open his eyes and find himself inside a replacement body as he watched his first one be devoured by Ms. Waller and Dr. Sivana. (They had threatened that once when he was feeling particularly rebellious-they told him how they would cut little pieces of his flesh off and make him eat it or perhaps they would but most likely he would have to eat it.)

The sound of the electric locks being disengaged brought him out of his morbid thoughts as he cowered against the wall, his whimpers muffled by his new gag which had a lock and key. He calmed down once he realized it was Mr. Dudley, the kindly old janitor that had helped him escape a couple of days ago.

"Come," Mr. Dudley looked behind him nervously. "Come on, I'm get you out of here."

Billy looked at for a moment, not comprehending the words then his eyes widened and he stood up as fast as he could, black spots dancing in his vision.

"Come on, kid," Mr. Dudley reiterated as he grabbed Billy's arm and pulled him to the door where he quickly checked for observers before stepping into the hallway.

Between Billy's wounds and Mr. Dudley's advanced age and beer belly it was slow going. Despite that they had almost reached the exit when a guard spotted them.

"Stop right there!" the guard shouted.

"Shit," Mr. Dudley cursed. "Come on, kid, we've got to get moving." He reached down and slung Billy over his shoulder then broke into a run.

"The experiment has escaped, I need backup. He and the janitor are heading to the south exit. Repeat: I need backup at the south exit."

"Whatever you do don't kill the experiment," Waller's voice came through the guard's radio. "We've spent too much time and money on him to throw it away now."

"Yes, ma'am." By the time the guard looked up his backup had arrived the exit door was closing. "Damn it!"

Billy clung tightly to Mr. Dudley's shirt as they ran through the forest. The older man was struggling to breathe and he was drenched in sweat. Billy was genuinely afraid that the janitor was going to have a heart attack and he would have demanded to be put down but the gag was still on and the drugs they had given him earlier were still swimming in his system, making it difficult for him to focus.

"Stop!" Bobbing lights and barks accompanied the shouts.

Mr. Dudley quickened his pace but fell victim to the same tree root Billy had a few nights earlier and fell flat on his face. "This isn't working," he groaned as he sat up. "I'm sorry Billy." He stood up, pulling Billy with him as they started moving again.

* * *

"May I ask what you're doing, sir?" Alfred held out a silver tray with a steaming cup of coffee and a sandwich.

"Research," was the cryptic answer as Bruce took the cup and sandwich, not even looking as he did so.

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

"Sarcasm suits you, Alfred," Bruce took a bite. "The sandwich is excellent as usual."

"Of course," Alfred sniffed. His eyes widened when he caught sight of what was on the screen. "Oh my, is that the clone you were telling me about?"

"Yes. According to the files Waller gave me the human name they gave him was Billy Batson," Bruce explained.

The corners of Alfred's mouth twitched. "Batson? I wasn't aware that she had a sense of humor."

"She doesn't," Bruce scowled. "Lex Luthor on the other hand does."

"Oh dear. He's involved with this as well?"

"Most definitely," Batman placed the empty cup back on the tray. "He and Waller have been working in conjunction with Dr. Sivana, a very brilliant scientist."

"The name sounds very familiar," Alfred mused.

"It should. He won a Nobel Prize about ten years ago. Unfortunately a lot of his colleagues were very jealous and ridiculed him mercilessly. He grew bitter and became a bit of a recluse."

'People can be so cruel but they can also be kind as well." Alfred looked at the picture of Shazam and hesitated before saying, "May I ask what you intend to do about Master William?"

Batman turned to look at the butler. "What do you mean?"

"Whether or not you're willing to admit it, the fact is that he is technically related to you. He's known nothing but the lab he was raised in: it would be cruel to free him and then just leave him all alone."

"I am _not_ bringing him here," Bruce growled. "He's far too dangerous to trust him with information like this."

"I didn't say you had to bring him home, sir," Alfred was unfazed. "All I'm trying to tell you is that you and the other Justice League members have a responsibility to teach him and nurture him. Teach him how to control his powers and undo whatever damage that awful woman has done. If nothing else at least let him know that you'll be for him whenever he needs someone."

"I will consider it," Batman begrudgingly agreed.

Knowing that was the best he was going to get Alfred smiled at his employer before heading back upstairs. "Excellent, sir."

* * *

"We're almost out of the forest," Mr. Dudley panted.

Billy gave him a thumb up. The drugs were finally starting to wear off and he could feel his powers coming back, albeit slowly. Maybe, if he concentrated really hard, he could use his powers to get rid of the gag and then he could turn into Shazam and fly Mr. Dudley out of here; he wasn't looking so good after all.

A bullet hit the tree next to them and Billy yelped in surprise, his eyes glowing white as his gag slowly bent outward. Mr. Dudley stumbled then fell to his knees. Billy looked down, his eyes widening when he saw blood spreading across Mr. Dudley's chest.

"I'm so sorry, Billy," he coughed, blood splattering on Billy's face. "I just wanted you to have a good life but it looks like I've failed you again. You can trust Luthor; he helped me break you out after all."

As Mr. Dudley's lifeless body slumped over tears began to roll down Billy's face and the rage inside him boiled over and he let out a scream, his gag flying off in pieces. "Shazam!"


	7. Introducing Billy Batson

The New Justice League: Rise Of Cadmus

Chapter 7: Introducing…Billy Batson!

"Well this is a fine mess," Police Commissioner Jim Gordon grumbled as he lit a cigarette, the small flame revealing the stubble on his face.

"What is?" Batman asked as he landed silently on the rooftop. He caught sight of the dead body lying at their feet and his eyes widened.

"We were hoping you could tell us." At two hundred and fifty pounds and a very unimpressive five foot nine Jim Gordon didn't look very intimidating-a fact that had led more than one person to underestimate him. That was usually their last mistake and he had quickly risen through the ranks, becoming the youngest Commissioner in Gotham history.

Batman knelt beside the body, noticing that his eyes were closed despite the terrified look on his face. "He was killed somewhere else and dumped here although dumped might not be the correct word judging by the way his limbs are arranged."

Gordon nodded in agreement. "It does look like someone cared about him. There are no injuries to the back of the skull to indicate he was thrown down and his arms are folded across his chest and his eyes are closed. I doubt the murderer would have gone to all this trouble so someone who cared for him brought him here. The question is: why bring him here at all? They could've just tipped us off."

"Because they wanted him to be found," Batman stood up. "I've seen this man before. I don't know his name but I do know that he works at a top-secret government research facility. I suspect that they're behind his death and if so they wouldn't have wanted him to be found."

"But someone else did," Gordon surmised as he took another puff of his cigarette. "Any idea who?"

"I think I might," Batman frowned. "Did anyone see who left him here?"

Gordon shook his head. "One of the guys said they saw someone in a white cape flying away after turning on the Bat Signal."

Batman raised an eyebrow in surprise. " _You_ didn't turn it on?"

"Nope," he stomped on the butt of his cigarette, putting it out. "I came up here when I realized it was on. This wouldn't have anything to do with that Shazam guy you were fighting the other day would it?"

"It might," Batman admitted after taking a DNA sample.

"Oh and I found this," he tossed Batman an evidence bag containing a cell phone. "It was lying right next to him. I figured you'd probably have better luck with it than we would."

"Thanks," Batman said curtly before disappearing into the night.

"Gonna be a long night," Gordon grumbled as he lit another cigarette.

* * *

"That was an awfully short patrol," Alfred observed as Batman got out of the Bat mobile.

"A janitor from Cadmus was murdered and it looks like Shazam wanted me to find him. If I had to make an educated guess I'd say that he was the one that broke Shazam out and Waller found out. I imagine he broke Shazam out again and was killed in the process."

"I'm more concerned as to why he feels the need to keep breaking Master William out," Alfred frowned.

Bruce threw Alfred a dirty look before plugging the cell phone into his computer. "Getting a bit ahead of ourselves aren't we, Alfred?"

"He has Wayne blood running through his veins, sir, and that means I shall treat him with the same respect that I do you," Alfred refused to budge on the subject. He had served the Wayne's since before Bruce was born and had been the unofficial head of house since then like his father before him. His word was law and no one, not even Thomas Wayne, could stand up to him.

Bruce sighed as he pulled up a video file, choosing not to comment. The video quality wasn't very good but that was to be expected of someone with a janitor's salary. The audio was low and the picture blurry but he could still identify Shazam and Waller as she taunted the magic user who was strapped into what was clearly a torture chair. The fact that they had had to adjust the straps to fit an adult did not go unnoticed nor did the remarks about him having a new form. They had no qualms about beating him and Batman's lips tightened. No one deserved to be treated that way-hero or villain. After Shazam called down his magic lightning there was a brilliant flash then the video went dead.

"What now, sir?" Alfred's voice was quiet with just a hint of fury.

"I don't know, Alfred. I just don't know."

* * *

"Explain to me just one more time how those ridiculous glasses seem to magically protect your identity?"

Clark pushed his glasses up as he smiled sheepishly at Diana. "Bruce made these for me. They're some sort of hypno glasses that allows people to see whatever I want them to see. You see Superman because that's what I want you to see but my boss sees Clark Kent because I want him to see Clark and not Superman."

"Secret identities are so complicated," Diana shook her head. At Clark's insistence she had traded in her costume for a black miniskirt and a purple t-shirt that read 'Equality Rocks' with a rainbow colored rock underneath the colorful saying. Mid-thigh black boots and a purple headband completed her look and if one looked closely enough they would see that the delicate golden belt on her waist was actually her lasso of truth.

"They are," Clark agreed. In contrast he wore a blue plaid shirt and jeans with sensible loafers that had Diana cringing whenever she looked at them. "But I have one so that I don't forget that I'm not a god, I'm just a person and as long as I remember where I came from I won't abuse my powers and hurt the people I'm trying to protect."

Diana rolled her eyes. "We are gods, Clark, or at least I am. We were made to rule over them: why else would we have these powers?"

"To serve and protect mankind," Clark reminded her, wincing when he realized just how corny it sounded.

Diana opened her mouth, no doubt fixing to voice her opinion on man once again when they both noticed a small commotion further down the street. The two exchanged glances before breaking into a run.

When they arrived at the scene it was to find two teenage boys pushing around a much younger boy. He wasn't fighting back, instead concentrating on curling into a ball in a desperate attempt to protect his head and face.

"Hey," Diana put her hands on her hips. "Leave the child alone or I shall slay thee."

"Diana," Clark groaned, putting a hand to his face. "You can't go around threatening to kill people even if they are bullies."

Diana ignored him in favor of glaring at the bullies as she began untying her lasso. "You shall pay for your misdeeds," she threatened.

"Beat it while you still can," Clark advised the teens.

The teens looked nervously at each other then took off, practically tripping over each other in an attempt to get away.

"Are you alright?" Clark knelt down in front of the still sobbing boy. "They're gone-I promise they won't bother you ever again."

The boy looked up and they were startled to see that it was the same boy they had seen while battling Shazam. "You're lying," his eyes began to glow white and then he was gone.

"What just happened?" Diana asked in confusion. "I could have sworn that we came down here for a reason."

"I thought we did too," Clark frowned.

Billy peeked around the corner then let out a sigh of relief. It had been a freak accident, running into Superman and Wonder Woman like that. If those bullies hadn't stopped him he could've already been at LexCorp and in the sympathetic arms of Ms. Mercy. She had always been nice to him but it had been too dangerous at Cadmus for her to show too much affection. Although, he decided, surely it couldn't hurt to at least observe his genetic donors for a little bit first.

* * *

"I've got some news, sir," Mercy reported once she had placed her cell phone back in her coat pocket.

"And what's that?" Lex didn't bother looking up from the paperwork he was pouring over.

"Dudley H. Dudley was found dead in Gotham last night. Apparently a figure in a white cape was seen flying away after turning on the Bat Signal."

 _That_ caught Lex's attention and he turned to face her. "Well, isn't that interesting."

* * *

A/N: Before anyone says that Diana's talking out of character I would like to remind everyone that not only is she a demigod but she comes from a place that despises men. She grew up listening to stories of how Zeus and the other gods ruled over mankind and played around with their lives as they saw fit. So she's not actually out of character, she just hasn't realized that the gods are people too and not really omnipotent.


	8. Interactions

The New Justice League: The Rise Of Cadmus

Chapter 8: Interactions

"How much food are you planning on buying?" Hal Jordan asked dubiously.

"Not much more," Barry Allen assured him, throwing in another box of cereal. "Just enough to get me through till Friday."

Hal stopped in the middle of the aisle. "You mean _this_ ," his voice rose an octave as he pointed at the overflowing buggy, "is just for a few days?!"

"Yep," Barry said cheerfully. "At least I hope it'll last that long. As long as we don't fight anybody between now and then it should."

"And if we _do_ fight someone? What then?"

"Then I'll look pitiful and beg until one of you loan me money that you don't mind never seeing again," he explained.

Hal sighed. "Of course you will," he muttered.

"It's not my fault that having super speed also gives me an even faster metabolism," Barry sulked.

"No one said it was."

The two contained shopping in a companionable silence. They were fixing to get into the checkout lane when they heard shouting. Both men whipped around, their muscles tensing as they got ready to spring into action. Barry relaxed when he realized it was just a kid stealing a candy bar and continued on his way. Hal hesitated then reached out and grabbed the kid's arm.

"Stop right there-you know better than that," he scolded.

The manager caught up with them a few seconds later, his face red and covered in sweat as he tried to catch his breath. "Thanks," he gasped. "I'll take it from here."

He stretched out a hand but Hal sidestepped him. "I apologize for my son's behavior: he's in the rebellious stage right now. You know how boys are."

The managed gaped at him. "Your son?" he repeated in disbelief.

"I'm very sorry, dad," the boy looked up at Hal, his non-swollen blue eye filling with unshed tears.

The kid was good, Hal had to admit. Between the baggy clothes and the cuts and bruises that littered his face he looked like he could use more than a candy bar. Hal pulled out his wallet and gave the manager several dollar bills. "That should cover the candy bar and I really am sorry about this."

The manager eyed him suspiciously but took the money. "No harm done," he said then went to talk to one of his employees.

Hal looked at the kid for a moment then, "You look familiar. Have we met?"

"Nope," the boy held the candy bar to his chest protectively. His eyes widened when he saw the twenty Hal was holding out. "For me?" he sounded incredulous.

"You look like you need it more than I do at the moment," he winked.

"Gee, thanks, mister." The kid waved then took off just as Barry came up.

"What's with the kid?" Barry asked. "He looked awfully familiar."

"I don't know," Hal frowned.

* * *

"Have you come to a decision regarding Shazam?" J'onn asked as he browsed the menu. He was in his John Jones disguise and looked like every other private detective complete with a brown trench coat and hat. The style was a little outdated but he didn't care.

Bruce sighed. "As much as I want nothing more than to storm Cadmus I can't. Until I have more proof there's no guarantee that Waller and her associates will go to jail and besides, the government would just transfer Shazam to another facility and then we might not be able to find him again."

"Your human government is very complicated," J'onn closed his menu. "I have been on Earth for over fifty years and I still can't understand all of your ways."

"No offense, J'onn, but I doubt you ever will," Bruce smiled. I'm part of the human race and even I don't understand us sometimes."

J'onn was about to reply when something brushed against his mind. It was…familiar and yet it wasn't. His eyes narrowed when he caught sight of the kid lingering near their table. He looked out of place for such a trendy little outside café.

"What're you looking at?" Bruce asked before turning to look for himself.

The instant Bruce's eyes locked with the child's J'onn felt it again and he knew. "The child is a telepath," he focused his powers and stopped the boy from entering Bruce's mind, allowing them to realize that this was the same child they had seen when struck by Shazam's lightning. The boy turned and took off running, J'onn and Bruce hot on his heels.

* * *

"Any luck?" Waller asked.

"Not yet," Dr. Sivana replied irritably. "The only reason we found him last time is because he attacked the Justice League. This time, though, he's playing it safe and laying low."

"What about the mind control serum? Can't we just use that to force him to return?"

Dr. Sivana hesitated then said, "We've only tested the serum a few times and it only worked two out of three times but…" his voice trailed off as his eyes widened. "That's it! I'm a genius!"

"What?" Waller demanded. "What did you figure out?"

Dr. Sivana typed in a few more commands before saying, "Every time we used the serum he had seizures. Even if he's lying low someone's bound to notice and take him to a hospital. I can set it up so that we'll be alerted the second a child matching his description is checked in."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Sivana, that is a good idea," she straightened and headed towards the door.

"Don't you mean 'a brilliant idea'" he called after her.

"Nope."

Dr. Sivana waited until she had left the room before muttering, "I can't stand that bitch."

* * *

"Stay away!"

"It's okay, we're not going to hurt you," Bruce promised as he and J'onn approached the child who was now cornered in an alleyway.

"I don't believe you." Suddenly the boy stiffened then he fell to the ground, his entire body seizing.

"I'll get the car; J'onn, you stay with him," Bruce ordered.

"On it," J'onn nodded.


	9. Re-Captured

The New Justice League: The Rise Of Cadmus

Chapter 9: Re-Captured

A/N: Brief mentions of torture and child molestation but nothing graphic.

* * *

"We've got a hit," Dr. Sivana crowed triumphantly.

"Where?" Waller demanded. "And how do we know it's him?"

"He was brought to Gotham Memorial Hospital by Bruce Wayne and John Jones," Sivana reported.

Waller blinked. "That's him," she pulled out a walkie talkie. "Flag, he's in Gotham. Get a squadron on standby and contact Luthor. Tell him to distract the Justice League while you grab the experiment."

"Yes, ma'am. Flag out."

* * *

The air in the waiting room was tense as Bruce and J'onn waited for an update. It had been almost an hour since they had brought the kid in and Bruce was getting impatient. He wouldn't have been so agitated but he had been distracted and had forgotten to grab some hair so he could do a DNA test. Even without doing one though suspicions had begun growing in his mind-ones that he very much didn't want to consider but had no choice. It was no coincidence that the boy was obviously the same one Shazam had shown them or that he had been there at the same time and place as him and J'onn.

"I must say, this is certainly a surprise. I definitely didn't expect to see you here."

The two men looked up to see Luthor standing there. "And I certainly didn't expect to see you here either," Bruce countered.

"I was thinking about donating to this hospital so Mercy suggested I check the place out first," it sounded logical and perfectly innocent but Bruce knew that Luthor had something up his sleeve.

"So where is she? I highly doubt that she let you come alone," Bruce commented.

"A friend of hers is here so she went to pay him a visit," Luthor explained. "So what are you doing here and who's your friend? I don't believe we've been introduced."

"John Jones: I'm a private investigator," J'onn shook Luthor's hand. "Bruce and I met while he was touring the world and we've kept in touch ever since."

"Lex Luthor. Bruce and I have known each other for years. Our parents had been rivals of a sort you could say."

"You could say that," Bruce agreed. "And in answer to your question, Lex, we brought in a kid we saw having a seizure while we were at lunch."

"That was certainly philanthropic of you," Luthor's smile didn't quite reach his eyes and he looked far too satisfied for Bruce's taste.

The next few minutes were spent exchanging pleasantries as Bruce felt his smile growing thinner by the second. J'onn obviously sensed his growing impatience judging by his reassuring smile. When they had first begun working together J'onn had tried to calm his friends down by entering their minds and sending waves of pure calm to them. His actions had not been received well at all. They had all been furious: Wonder Woman had even tried to kill him and only Superman had managed to stop her. Two hours later they had finally managed to convince J'onn that non-telepaths did not appreciate it when telepaths invaded their minds and altered their emotions. J'onn hadn't really understood (he was from a race that rarely, if ever, talked as they preferred to communicate using their telepathy) but he had promised to respect their wishes. In return they had made an effort to try and understand his culture, allowing him limited access to their minds when they were together.

Luthor was in the middle of recalling a recent business meeting where Mercy had broken someone's hand when a doctor emerged from one of the operating rooms. Recognizing him as the doctor they had given the child to Bruce and J'onn stood up, effectively ending their conversation with Luthor who smiled and moved off to the side.

"How is he, doctor?" Bruce asked.

The doctor's lips tightened as rage flashed in his green eyes. "If it wasn't for the fact that I know who you are, Mr. Wayne, I would have already called the cops. He's been tortured-some of his injuries are as recent as a few days ago. There are signs of sexual assault which are not as recent thankfully."

"And the seizures?" J'onn asked. "Any idea what caused those?"

The doctor shook his head. "Unfortunately not. We did manage to stabilize him for now but I would like to run some more tests on him later but that will have to wait-I have a tumor removal in less than an hour."

"Of course," Bruce nodded. "Would it be alright if we stopped by to say hello before we leave?"

"Not a problem. He's in the pediatrics ward, room 106," the doctor nodded curtly before leaving, no doubt to get a snack in before starting on his next surgery.

"Let's go," Bruce told J'onn and they headed towards the elevator only to be stopped by Luthor who quickly blocked their path.

"I don't believe our conversation is over just yet." His eyes were hard and all pretenses of niceness had vanished.

"Yes, it is," Bruce's eyes narrowed. "Now get out of our way."

"Or what: you'll kill me? I don't think so. You're not going anywhere until I say so."

The air was tense as the three men faced off, none willing to budge. The standoff was broken yb a cough and they all turned to see Mercy standing there. She didn't even bother acknowledging Bruce or J'onn before turning to her boss. "Everything's been taken care of, sir. We can go now."

"Excellent," Luthor grinned. "Well, Bruce, it was fun chatting with you and it was a pleasure meeting your friend. I have no doubt that we will be seeing each other again soon."

"Good day," Mercy said stiffly then she and Luthor walked towards the exit.

"Did you get anything from either of them?" Bruce asked.

"No," J'onn frowned. "It's as if there was something blocking me. If I focused my telepathy then I probably could access their minds but it would take a great deal of time not to mention they could suffer severe brain damage."

"It's not entirely impossible that Luthor's found a way to block telepathy," Bruce theorized as they entered the elevator.

* * *

"I trust that everything has been taken care of?" Luthor asked as the driver started the limo.

"Yes, sir," Mercy nodded. "Flag and his people have Billy and are transporting him back to Cadmus as we speak. The hospital records have been erased and soon none of the staff will remember that he was even there."

"And?" Luthor prompted.

"The mind control chip was planted in the back of his neck and I made certain to leave enough hair so that Batman could run a DNA test."

"Wonderful," Luthor nodded in approval. "Once this business with Waller is over we can focus our attention on more important matters like Project KR."

"It will be nice not to have to see her or that little troll again," Mercy admitted. "Their pictures will make excellent target practice though."

* * *

Batman was not in a very good mood by the time he returned to the Bat Cave. By the time he and J'onn had made it to the boy's hospital room he was gone and the only proof that he could find were a few hairs under the pillow. It was obvious that they had been planted there but he took them anyways. If Luthor had an ulterior motive he would find out what it was sooner or later. The sample had only been in the system for a few minutes before the computer beeped, indicating that it had found a match.

"Why am I not surprised?" he sighed, even as he pulled out his communicator.

The computer continued flashing the results: DNA MATCH FOUND: SHAZAM, BRUCE WAYNE, CLARK KENT, DIANA PRINCE, BARRY ALLEN, HAL JORDAN, J'ONN J'ONZZ.

* * *

A/N/N: Hope everyone is still enjoying this story! It's almost over with! Please read and review!


	10. The Truth Is Out There

The New Justice League: The Rise Of Cadmus

Chapter 10: The Truth Is Out There

"Another meeting?" Flash groaned. "This had better be good. My boss is getting really tired of me disappearing in the middle of a case."

"It's not," Batman informed him. "It turns out that Shazam is really a little kid."

"I'm sorry but can you repeat that? It sounded an awful lot like 'Shazam is really a little kid.'" Green Lantern didn't look very happy but neither did the rest of them at the unwelcome news.

"That's exactly what I said," Batman confirmed. "I did a DNA test of some of the boy's hair and not only did it match ours but it was one hundred percent identical to Shazam's. I suspect he uses magic to alter his physical appearance."

"Is that rare?" Wonder Woman asked. Her fellow League members had concentrated more on trying to teach her annoying little things such as knocking and asking politely instead of using her sword to threaten people who didn't give her what she wanted. Far more interesting subjects such as biology and the history of weaponry and ferocious battles had not been on the list of things that she needed to learn in order to blend in with the regular civilians. She had no use for the majority of their rules and rarely (if ever) followed them much to their frustration.

"It only happens in identical twins," Flash explained. "And that's only because they both came from the same egg which split in half after it was fertilized."

"Ah," Wonder Woman nodded in understanding. "So my half-siblings would not have the same DNA as me but my twin sister Donna would."

"Exactly," Superman then looked at her in surprise. "You have a twin?"

"Technically," Diana confessed with a shrug. "However, she was cursed when she was little by Circe and no longer ages."

"Unless the curse altered her DNA then yes they should still be the same," Flash assured her. "Your half-siblings would have similar DNA but not exact."

"I would like to suggest that we return to Cadmus and take the child by force if necessary," J'onn stated, knowing how Batman felt about conversations that went off-topic especially when he was trying to discuss serious topics such as now. "Especially since the doctor did tell us that he was abused physically and sexually. Surely we have enough evidence now to justify such an action."

Batman nodded in approval. "That's an excellent idea, J'onn. Any objections?"

* * *

It was a very somber and angry group of superheroes that stormed past the scared security guards and into Waller's office. Once again she didn't look overly surprised to see them although she shot an annoyed glare at Luthor who merely grinned. "I should have known that you would figure out the truth," she sighed.

"You've crossed too many lines, Waller," Batman growled, slamming a fist on her desk. "Torturing an adult is bad enough but little kids? That's sick; even for you."

"I couldn't agree more," Luthor crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall nonchalantly.

"I am fully aware of your feelings on the subject," Waller snapped. "You and your…assistant have made it perfectly clear that you don't agree with my methods on more than one occasion."

"And yet you continue to work with her," Superman scowled at his rival. As much as he wanted to believe that a part of Luthor was still good he was having trouble finding it. While Luthor's father could take a good deal of the blame for his son's behavior ultimately Lex had made his own choices and now everyone else had to deal with the consequences. The news of his father's death had not been much of a surprise although Batman's theory that Mercy had committed the murder and not Lex had been a little bit of a shock.

Luthor shrugged. "I did arrange for him to escape and for you to find his DNA at the hospital."

"What?!" Waller stood up, fury written all over her face. "The goal of this endeavor was to create a weapon to wipe out the Justice League so we could have a weapon of mass destruction under our control!"

"It was," Luthor admitted. "Or at least it was until you became more interested in asserting your dominance over him then taking down the Justice League."

"I had to prove that I'm in charge and that if he disobeys there are consequences," she argued. "I only did what was necessary to further our goals."

Luthor rolled his eyes. "Mercy was correct-you are very short-sighted for such an ambitious woman." Waller gaped at him, too furious to even speak. Batman would have enjoyed the sight more if it wasn't for the knock on the door. "That should be her now. We have a surprise for all of you." He opened the door and more than one member of the Justice League let out horrified gasps at the sight greeting them.

In the doorway stood a little boy with messy black hair covering his forehead and shielding one of his blue eyes. His jeans and sweater were stained with blood due to the numerous cuts and bruises covering his face. The anti-magic cuffs on his ankles were attached to the ones on his wrists by a long chain. An intricate metal gag covered the lower half of his face which had a lock on it.

"What is the meaning of this?" Waller demanded as she stormed out from behind her desk. "Put the experiment back in his cell _now_."

"I already told you," Mercy unlocked the gag, letting it fall to the floor. "I only take orders from Mr. Luthor."

"Kill Amanda Waller and the Justice League," Luthor patted Billy on the shoulder then left the room, closing the door behind him.

"No," Waller backed up. "I order you to return to your cell."

Billy didn't even bother glancing at her before he opened his mouth and shouted, "Shazam!"

* * *

A/N: This story has officially been finished. All I have left to do is type up the last chapters and then I can start on the next part of this saga. Please read and review!


	11. Conclusion Part 1

The New Justice League: The Rise Of Cadmus

Chapter 11: Conclusion Part 1

"Oh shit," Flash groaned. "Not again."

"Joy," Green Lantern sighed, mentally preparing himself to be on the defense if necessary.

Shazam's eyes were glowing and his hands formed into fists as the air around him began to crackle with electricity. Before anyone had a chance to blink Shazam had crossed the room and was effortlessly holding Waller in the air with one hand. "This is for Mr. Dudley," he growled.

"S-stop," Waller managed to choke out. "I order you to let me go: _now."_

Shazam's grip on her neck tightened as he smirked. "Didn't you hear Ms. Graves? I only take orders from Mr. Luthor now."

"B-but."

"Let her go," Batman ordered, effectively interrupting Waller and preventing her from possibly angering Shazam even more than she already had.

"Weren't you listening? I only take orders from Mr. Luthor!" Lightning flew from his free hand, coming straight towards the Justice League.

Flash yelped and just barely managed to avoid getting hit again. He did _not_ want to go through that for a third time. Once was more than enough thank you very much.

Batman ducked behind Green Lantern who threw up a shield just in time, gritting his teeth as it absorbed the lightning. Wonder Woman wasn't so lucky. Confident in her status as a demi-goddess she remained in front of Superman, her arms crossed so that her bracelets would take the brunt of the blast. While she was successful in accomplishing that she had forgotten to calculate the ricochet so she and Superman crashed through the wall and into the main hallway.

Pandemonium broke out once the guards and scientists realized that there was a super powered fight going on. Panicked guards began firing and the frightened screams intensified as everyone tried to escape, a few of them getting trampled in the process while others got shot.

"Superman, I need you, Wonder Woman and J'onn to take down Shazam," Batman ordered.

"And what about the rest of you?" J'onn returned to his solid form, having shifted into his dense form to avoid the attack.

"We'll evacuate the building," Batman answered.

"Very well," J'onn nodded before turning to help his colleagues to their feet.

"Excuse me. Coming through. Out of the way please. Hold on tight. Don't throw up on the costume." Flash was nothing more than a red streak at this point as he ran back and forth trying desperately to get everyone to safety. Green Lantern was clearing the rubble and making more exits, helping lift out the injured people that couldn't get out on their own. There wasn't going to be much left of the building after all this but no one really cared. Once he was certain that they had everything under control Batman found a computer and quickly began downloading as many files as he could, directing some of the stragglers toward the exits. He should be able to obtain more than enough evidence against Amanda Waller and Lex Luthor to put them both behind bars for a very long time.

"So what's the game plan?" Superman asked once he and Wonder Woman had gotten back on their feet.

"The two of you will keep him distracted while I try to reach him using my telepathy. Hopefully I can break through whatever method they have of controlling him," J'onn answered.

"On it," Wonder Woman pulled out her sword and shield then followed Superman as he flew towards Waller.

"I bet you never thought it would come to this, did you? No doubt you pictured you being the one holding me by the throat, my life in your hands and not the other way around." The sadistic smirk on Shazam's face looked strangely out of place as he tightened his grip even more. "It's beyond satisfying-knowing that I'm going to be the one that gets to end your pathetic, miserable excuse for a life."

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Superman's fist connected with Shazam's jaw and he grunted, relaxing his hold on Waller long enough for her to free herself.

"What are you waiting for? Kill him already," she ordered, scampering backwards in an effort to put some distance between Shazam and herself.

Wonder Woman looked at her in disdain. "I have to agree with everyone else: I don't take orders from you." As she was speaking she had grabbed Waller's elbow and dragged the other woman across the room to the window. "Don't worry: we're on the first floor," she used her shield to break the glass.

"No, don't!" Waller shouted but it was too late. Wonder Woman threw her out of the window then turned back to the battle. "Ow," Waller groaned as she pushed herself back up. There was pain in her hands and knees from where she had scraped against the pavement. It was going to be fun digging out the gravel later, she thought sourly. Although, if she wanted to salvage her career, she should probably get out of here while she still could. With that thought in mind she rose to her feet then began limping towards her car which had managed to remain virtually undamaged so far.

"Tell me, why did you save her?" Shazam demanded, hatred shining in his eyes. "Do you have any idea of the atrocities that woman has committed? The things that she did to me? She deserves to die!" Venom laced his voice as he all but spat the words out.

"That's not your decision," Superman countered. "That's for a judge and jury to decide."

Wonder Woman was getting bored of the banter and took the initiative, lunging at Shazam with her sword drawn. "Cease your prattling and fight already!"

"You do get that he's just a kid, right?" Superman pointed out as Shazam easily dodged her attack.

"He is perfectly capable of surviving if I continue to hold back," Wonder Woman argued.

"You know she makes a good point," Shazam agreed. "Luckily I do have a form that isn't quite as durable as this one. Shazam!"


	12. Conclusion Part 2

The New Justice League: The Rise Of Cadmus

Chapter 12: Conclusion Part 2

Batman was only halfway through downloading all of Cadmus' files when an all too familiar bolt of magic lightning struck the building, shorting out all of the electrical systems. "Not again," he groaned. "Hopefully I got enough evidence to not only convict Waller and Luthor but all of their accomplices as well."

"Everyone's been evacuated but us," Flash skidded to a stop next to Batman.

"Aw man, don't tell me we have to fight a little kid," Green Lantern could be heard complaining from further down the hall as he peered into the remains of Waller's office.

"What is the point of fighting a child?" Wonder Woman huffed. "He can't even fight back-there is no challenge. Honestly, it'd be a waste of time to kill him now."

Superman let out yet another heavy sigh. "You can't kill him, Diana."

"I'm standing right here you know," Billy reminded them. "Besides, who says I can't fight? I'll admit that I don't have any physical strength but I do have plenty of other attributes to make up for that."

"Like what?" Flash challenged as he and Batman entered the rom.

"Flash," Batman rubbed his forehead. "Please don't antagonize him."

"Like this," Billy's eyes began glowing and several pieces of rubble began to float in the air.

Wonder Woman blinked. "It appears that I was mistaken. Perhaps this will prove to be fun after all."

Batman looked at her. "Perhaps your mother should have focused more on actual princess lessons instead of fighting," he suggested.

"There's a difference?"

Flash let out a yelp as a large piece of rubble hit the wall next to his head. "Telekinesis? Where the hell did he get that power from?"

Green Lantern just looked at his friend blankly. "You do realize that J'onn has telekinetic abilities, right?"

"I forgot," Flash grinned sheepishly as Green Lantern put a shield up between them and Billy. "Where is he anyways?"

"I'm trying to concentrate," J'onn said through gritted teeth as he became visible once more. "His telepathic shields are incredibly strong-it's taking longer than I had anticipated. It's like I'm trying to invade my own mind."

"I don't care if he is a clone-I'm not fighting a kid," Superman frowned.

"Perhaps you should talk less and focus more on your enemy," Billy suggested as he walked towards them, the still floating rubble following him. "It should prove easy to destroy you."

"And then?" Batman demanded. "What do you think is going to happen to you if you kill us? You've tried to escape twice already but with no luck. Not only did they re-capture you but they also tortured you. What exactly do you think your future is going be like?"

Billy frowned and stopped where he was. "I-I don't know," he admitted. "I guess I could go stay with Mr. Luthor and Ms. Graves."

"You're placing an awful lot of faith in someone that not only helped fund this place but allowed you to be tortured until it suited his purposes to release you," Flash pointed out.

"What makes you think he won't just throw you to the wolves once we're out of the way," Green Lantern asked.

"The man cannot be trusted," Wonder Woman agreed.

"And you can?" Billy sneered, his voice thick with tears. "I know he's not a very good person but at least he's honest about it. You guys are nothing more than a bunch of self-righteous jerks that think it's your responsibility to decide whether or not people are evil. You throw your weight around like you're gods but you're not."

"I'm a demi-goddess," Wonder Woman pointed out rather smugly.

As the insults and fighting continued J'onn did his best to tune the sounds out, using all of his energy to instead focus on entering Billy's mind. It was difficult at first-the child did have his telepathic abilities after all but once he had gotten through the first layer of defenses it became much easier.

Billy's mind was damaged, no doubt due to all of the trauma he had endured. His memories were scattered about haphazardly in no particular order. They were all different colors, indicating the emotion associated with it. Yellow for fear, red for anger and so on. Voices echoed around him and J'onn recognized some of the voices; Waller, Luthor, Mercy Graves and the Justice League's. He didn't recognize all of them but decided that they probably belonged to some of the other people that worked in this facility.

He stopped at a dead end and frowned at the sign hanging in front of him which read 'Shazam'. "Billy?" he called, "are you in here?"

"Please help me," a childish voice echoed faintly as it bounced off the walls.

"I'm coming," J'onn called. He continued navigating his way through the unstable landscape. It wasn't long before he came upon a cage made of adamantium. Billy was in the cage, panting as he pressed his face against the bars.

"Please, I want to come out now," Billy sniffed. "I don't care if you guys don't trust me or if some of you don't think I'm a real person-I just want out."

"Don't worry-we shall free you," J'onn promised. Upon looking at the cage more closely, however, it quickly became clear that it was going to be more difficult than he had anticipated.

"I apologize, my friends, but I cannot do this alone. I must ask for your assistance."

"Of course."

"Whatever you need, pal."

"Sure, buddy."

"I'll help anyway I can."

"If it helps take Waller down I'll do whatever it takes."

J'onn hadn't done this in a very, very long time (not since his two wives and husband had decided to permanently join their minds) but he still remembered how to do it. He was careful as he began to link their minds together. Once the link was complete he focused their combined energy on the cage and smiled in satisfaction as the bars began to bend, creating an opening big enough for Billy to slip through.

"Am I free?" the boy asked, wonder lacing his voice and hope shining in his blue eyes.

"Yes," J'onn smiled. "You're free now, Billy, and I won't let anyone take you or hurt you again, I promise."

J'onn blinked as he re-entered the physical world. Billy was lying in a heap on the floor as his fellow Justice League members groaned and clutched their aching heads.

"He's still breathing," Batman's voice was hoarse as he checked Billy's pulse. "We'll have to do a further examination to be sure but he should be fine after he gets some rest."

"That's good," J'onn bent down and carefully picked the child up, adjusting his grip so that he wouldn't drop him. "Let's go; we no longer have a reason to stick around."

* * *

Two Weeks Later

"Explain to me again how Waller and Luthor somehow managed to get off despite all of the evidence that you gathered." Superman crossed the room and went to stand next to Batman.

The Dark Knight scowled but didn't take his eyes off the computer monitor. "Apparently Waller had dirt on someone very high up if I'm not mistaken. Not to mention she's one of the few people willing to take us on. She wasn't lying when she said that we made people nervous if we ever do go off the rails."

"And Luthor?" Hal leaned back in his chair. He and Batman were on monitor duty much to his dismay. Thankfully his shift was almost over then he and Barry were going to watch a football game.

"Shazam's little lightning display erased the majority of the files and all that the rest could prove was that Luthor had donated money to the project."

"Can't Billy just testify against them?" Flash wanted to know as he sped into the room, Wonder Woman right behind him.

Batman shook his head regretfully. "As it stands now clones aren't recognized as real people. Therefore they aren't recognized in a court of law and neither are superheroes. That may change in the future but for now it wouldn't do us any good. Where is Billy anyways?"

"J'onn's performing another sweep of his mind to make sure all of the programming is gone," Wonder Woman answered.

Despite Batman's worries the government had made no move to claim Billy ( no doubt due to Luthor, Batman thought sourly) and since they were technically biologically related the Justice League had decided that for now it would be for the best if Billy stayed at the Watchtower until he had better control over his various powers. He hadn't had an actual power surge yet and Batman was hoping to avoid that if possible.

"Hey didn't someone else get away to?" Hal frowned.

"Dr. Sivana," Batman reminded him.

By the time the proper authorities are arrived Luthor, Sivana and Waller were gone. Luthor had an alibi prepared when questioned, Waller had already gotten in touch with some of her higher up friends and Dr. Sivana and his two children couldn't be found. There was evidence that something large (a rocket ship perhaps or maybe a spacecraft) had launched from his secluded lab but all of his notes were either destroyed or missing. With no clue as to where he had gone Batman wasn't very optimistic about finding him.

"Find anything?"

J'onn reached out and smoothed Billy's hair back his smile warm as he shook his head. "Nope. Not a thing." Relief filled his blue eyes and Billy subtly leaned into the touch.

"That's good," Billy grinned, his happiness flooding through the mind link.

In order to create a link strong enough to break through the mind control J'onn had been forced to create permanent links between Billy and the Justice League members. While the links couldn't be broken without causing mental damage to at least one of the participants J'onn had managed to block the majority of the information so the others felt more comfortable. He and Billy were the only ones still fully connected and he couldn't begin to describe just how wonderful it was to have another mind in touch with his own at all times.

"J'onn?" Billy's voice cut through his thoughts.

"Yes, Billy?"

"What if," Billy chewed on his lower lip before asking, "what if Ms. Waller and Dr. Sivana come back for me? What'll happen then?"

J'onn turned to look out the window, resting a hand on Billy's shoulder as he also turned. "Whatever happens we'll face it together, as a family."

"That sounds nice," Billy smiled and rested his head on J'onn's shoulder.

* * *

"It has begun," Madame Xandau waved a well-manicured hand, dispelling the image within the crystal ball. A tear ran down her face as she whispered, "The destruction of the Justice League is at hand."

THE END

* * *

A/N: Yay this story is finally over! I've already started working on the second installment so keep your eyes peeled for that one. Thanks for sticking with me and I hope you continue to do so!


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